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A contingency model of employees’ turnover intent in young ventures

Author

Listed:
  • Anne Domurath

    (Wilfrid Laurier University)

  • Simon Taggar

    (Wilfrid Laurier University)

  • Holger Patzelt

    (TUM School of Management, Technische Universität München)

Abstract

A defining characteristic of young ventures is that they are more likely to experience periods of change (of both a positive and negative nature) than are established organizations. This could result in a misalignment between employees’ expectations when hired and actual work experiences. Based on met expectations theory, we argue that employees’ experiences in young ventures result in greater turnover intent over time. We further theorize that the relationship between time and turnover intent is contingent on employees’ prior work experience at a start-up and venture growth rates. Using a unique longitudinal data set containing 1,151 survey responses from 458 employees of 67 ventures, we find that employees’ turnover intent increases over time and that this effect is particularly strong for employees with little prior start-up work experience and employees working in low-growth ventures. We discuss implications for the literature on employees in entrepreneurial firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne Domurath & Simon Taggar & Holger Patzelt, 2023. "A contingency model of employees’ turnover intent in young ventures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 901-927, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:60:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-022-00629-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-022-00629-2
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employee turnover; Intent to leave; Met expectations theory; Work experience; Firm growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • M59 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Other
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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